{"id":100075,"date":"2021-10-06T15:05:38","date_gmt":"2021-10-06T14:05:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/?p=100075"},"modified":"2021-10-06T15:12:53","modified_gmt":"2021-10-06T14:12:53","slug":"construction-growth-slows-september","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/planning-construction-news\/construction-growth-slows-september\/100075\/","title":{"rendered":"Construction growth slows as industry hit by rapid cost inflation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Construction growth slowed in September, as a \u2018perfect storm\u2019 continues to hamper availability of materials and labour across the UK<\/h2>\n

September PMI data revealed another growth slowdown in the construction sector, with output volumes rising to the smallest extent for eight months.<\/p>\n

At 52.6 in September, down from 55.2 in August<\/a>, the headline seasonally adjusted IHS Markit<\/a>\/CIPS UK Construction PMI\u00ae Total Activity Index dropped further below the 24-year high seen in June (66.3).<\/p>\n

The latest reading signalled only a moderate expansion of total construction output and the weakest speed of recovery for eight months.<\/p>\n

Figure breakdown<\/h3>\n

All three broad categories of construction activity saw a loss of momentum in September, with the biggest slowdown seen in civil engineering (51.0, down from 54.8 in August).<\/p>\n

Housebuilding also decelerated in September, with the latest expansion the weakest since the recovery began in June 2020 (52.8). This left the commercial segment (53.6) as the best-performing category during September.<\/p>\n

Construction companies recorded a moderate increase in new work during September, with the rate of growth easing sharply to its weakest since the start of 2021.<\/p>\n

September data indicated another strong rise in employment numbers across the construction sector, driven by greater workloads and stretched business capacity. However, the latest rise in staffing levels was the least marked since April, which partly reflected long wait times to fill vacancies.<\/p>\n

A lack of sub-contractor availability added to the squeeze on labour supply in September.<\/p>\n

Purchase prices increased rapidly in September, although the rate of inflation eased further from June’s all-time peak. Around 78% of the survey panel reported a rise in their cost burdens, which was mostly linked to supply shortages<\/a> and transport surcharges.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the latest survey illustrated that construction firms remained highly upbeat about the business outlook. Just over half (51%) forecast rising output, while only 8% anticipate a decline. However, the degree of confidence was weaker than August amid some concerns that the supply chain crisis will hinder growth.<\/p>\n

‘Supply vs demand worries aren\u2019t going away quickly’<\/h3>\n

Jan Crosby, head of infrastructure, building and construction at KPMG UK<\/a>, said: \u201cA perfect storm continues to hamper availability of materials and labour across the sector in the UK.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe scale of HS2<\/a> is acting as a magnet for certain elements of the supply chain, including heavy equipment and cement; the global demand for steel and timber is pushing up prices and lead times for most goods can take much longer than normal.<\/p>\n

“Additionally, labour in the south has been impacted by Brexit and HGV drivers<\/a> are in high demand.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe good news is that demand remains high across most markets \u2013 particularly residential and infrastructure.\u00a0Rising end prices for houses and real estate are often fully mitigating the impact of the cost increases \u2013 at least in the private sector.<\/p>\n

“However, availability will act as a break on how much the industry can respond to the high demand.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis month has again seen slow growth for the sector. The ongoing lorry driver shortages and lack of stock mean these supply vs demand worries aren\u2019t going away quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n

‘The figures have not substantively improved’<\/h3>\n

Matthew Farrow, director of policy at the Association for Consultancy and Engineering<\/a> (ACE), commented: \u201cAutumn is here and the figures have not substantively improved. As in many other sectors we are facing the spectre of rising people costs as well as delays and inflationary pressures on materials. This is a potent combination which will hold back post-pandemic recovery in both the construction sector and the wider economy.<\/p>\n

\u201cDespite these challenges, the fact that respondents remain largely upbeat with a positive business outlook is good news.<\/p>\n

“It remains to be seen whether this withstands the next few months of 2021 which are unlikely to see any substantial change in the circumstances we are working in.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Construction growth slowed in September, as a \u2018perfect storm\u2019 continues to hamper availability of materials and labour across the UK.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[304],"tags":[572,579,974,701],"stakeholder_rel_tag":[],"contributor_rel_tag":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-100075","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-planning-construction-news","7":"tag-housebuilding","8":"tag-infrastructure","9":"tag-pmi","10":"tag-supply-chain"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nConstruction growth slows as industry hit by rapid cost inflation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Construction growth slowed in September, as the \u2018perfect storm\u2019 continues to hamper availability of materials and labour across the UK\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/planning-construction-news\/construction-growth-slows-september\/100075\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Construction growth slows as industry hit by rapid cost inflation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Construction growth slowed in September, as the \u2018perfect storm\u2019 continues to hamper availability of materials and labour across the UK\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/planning-construction-news\/construction-growth-slows-september\/100075\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Planning, Building & Construction Today\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/PBCToday\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-10-06T14:05:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-10-06T14:12:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/dreamstime_xxl_42345640.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1357\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Elisha Sketchley\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@PBC_Today\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@PBC_Today\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/planning-construction-news\/construction-growth-slows-september\/100075\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/planning-construction-news\/construction-growth-slows-september\/100075\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Elisha Sketchley\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/4ae66827b33682426f672d214cdd7580\"},\"headline\":\"Construction growth slows as industry hit by rapid cost inflation\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-10-06T14:05:38+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-10-06T14:12:53+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/planning-construction-news\/construction-growth-slows-september\/100075\/\"},\"wordCount\":631,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Housebuilding\",\"Infrastructure\",\"PMI\",\"Supply Chain\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Planning & Construction News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/planning-construction-news\/construction-growth-slows-september\/100075\/#respond\"]}],\"copyrightYear\":\"2021\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/#organization\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/planning-construction-news\/construction-growth-slows-september\/100075\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/planning-construction-news\/construction-growth-slows-september\/100075\/\",\"name\":\"Construction growth slows as industry hit by rapid cost inflation\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-10-06T14:05:38+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-10-06T14:12:53+00:00\",\"description\":\"Construction growth slowed in September, as the \u2018perfect storm\u2019 continues to hamper availability of materials and labour across the UK\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/planning-construction-news\/construction-growth-slows-september\/100075\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/planning-construction-news\/construction-growth-slows-september\/100075\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/planning-construction-news\/construction-growth-slows-september\/100075\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Construction growth slows as industry hit by rapid cost inflation\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/\",\"name\":\"Planning, Building & Construction Today\",\"description\":\"The Latest Planning, Building & Construction News\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Planning, Building & Construction Today\",\"alternateName\":\"PBC Today\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/pbctoday-logo-yoast-seo-organisation-1920-1080-001.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/pbctoday-logo-yoast-seo-organisation-1920-1080-001.jpg\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":1080,\"caption\":\"Planning, Building & Construction Today\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/PBCToday\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/PBC_Today\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/4ae66827b33682426f672d214cdd7580\",\"name\":\"Elisha Sketchley\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/30054ee50e4135840aa91decc99b14268d346fcf23e3f41d0ecfe6c19255e936?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/30054ee50e4135840aa91decc99b14268d346fcf23e3f41d0ecfe6c19255e936?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Elisha Sketchley\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/author\/elishasketchley\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Construction growth slows as industry hit by rapid cost inflation","description":"Construction growth slowed in September, as the \u2018perfect storm\u2019 continues to hamper availability of materials and labour across the UK","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/planning-construction-news\/construction-growth-slows-september\/100075\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Construction growth slows as industry hit by rapid cost inflation","og_description":"Construction growth slowed in September, as the \u2018perfect storm\u2019 continues to hamper availability of materials and labour across the UK","og_url":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/planning-construction-news\/construction-growth-slows-september\/100075\/","og_site_name":"Planning, Building & Construction Today","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/PBCToday\/","article_published_time":"2021-10-06T14:05:38+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-10-06T14:12:53+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2000,"height":1357,"url":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/dreamstime_xxl_42345640.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Elisha Sketchley","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@PBC_Today","twitter_site":"@PBC_Today","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/planning-construction-news\/construction-growth-slows-september\/100075\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/planning-construction-news\/construction-growth-slows-september\/100075\/"},"author":{"name":"Elisha Sketchley","@id":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/4ae66827b33682426f672d214cdd7580"},"headline":"Construction growth slows as industry hit by rapid cost inflation","datePublished":"2021-10-06T14:05:38+00:00","dateModified":"2021-10-06T14:12:53+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/planning-construction-news\/construction-growth-slows-september\/100075\/"},"wordCount":631,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/#organization"},"keywords":["Housebuilding","Infrastructure","PMI","Supply Chain"],"articleSection":["Planning & Construction News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/planning-construction-news\/construction-growth-slows-september\/100075\/#respond"]}],"copyrightYear":"2021","copyrightHolder":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/#organization"}},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/planning-construction-news\/construction-growth-slows-september\/100075\/","url":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/planning-construction-news\/construction-growth-slows-september\/100075\/","name":"Construction growth slows as industry hit by rapid cost inflation","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/#website"},"datePublished":"2021-10-06T14:05:38+00:00","dateModified":"2021-10-06T14:12:53+00:00","description":"Construction growth slowed in September, as the \u2018perfect storm\u2019 continues to hamper availability of materials and labour across the UK","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/planning-construction-news\/construction-growth-slows-september\/100075\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/planning-construction-news\/construction-growth-slows-september\/100075\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/planning-construction-news\/construction-growth-slows-september\/100075\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Construction growth slows as industry hit by rapid cost inflation"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/","name":"Planning, Building & Construction Today","description":"The Latest Planning, Building & Construction News","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/#organization","name":"Planning, Building & Construction Today","alternateName":"PBC Today","url":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/pbctoday-logo-yoast-seo-organisation-1920-1080-001.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/pbctoday-logo-yoast-seo-organisation-1920-1080-001.jpg","width":1920,"height":1080,"caption":"Planning, Building & Construction Today"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/PBCToday\/","https:\/\/x.com\/PBC_Today"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/4ae66827b33682426f672d214cdd7580","name":"Elisha Sketchley","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/30054ee50e4135840aa91decc99b14268d346fcf23e3f41d0ecfe6c19255e936?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/30054ee50e4135840aa91decc99b14268d346fcf23e3f41d0ecfe6c19255e936?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Elisha Sketchley"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk"],"url":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/author\/elishasketchley\/"}]}},"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-10-07 00:03:09","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100075","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=100075"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100075\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=100075"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=100075"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=100075"},{"taxonomy":"stakeholder_rel_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/stakeholder_rel_tag?post=100075"},{"taxonomy":"contributor_rel_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor_rel_tag?post=100075"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}